After the Celebration, the children came and put their hand prints on the banner. The banner was pre-prepared by Kortney Thompson…. 11 years old !!!

After the celebration, the team voted and decided to eat the food. They made special accommodations for our diet, and served us Hava Beans, Potatoes, and BBQ Meatballs. Wow, was that good. We had eaten peanut butter all week.

The Agua Team voted and decided to eat with our new friends.

The most spectacular thing was that the Little Girl on the Burrow now has a NAME!! Ana Llagsha Potajalo. The Team gave her and her brother a gift package. And, the shy little girl, hugged us all. Best part.

After the Celebration, the children came and put their hand prints on the banner. The banner was pre-prepared by Kortney Thompson…. 11 years old !!!

After the celebration, the team voted and decided to eat the food. They made special accommodations for our diet, and served us Hava Beans, Potatoes, and BBQ Meatballs. Wow, was that good. We had eaten peanut butter all week.

The Agua Team voted and decided to eat with our new friends.

The most spectacular thing was that the Little Girl on the Burrow now has a NAME!! Ana Llagsha Potajalo. The Team gave her and her brother a gift package. And, the shy little girl, hugged us all. Best part.

Well, on Saturday, the Install Team went to Promesa Divina and attempted to start bottling. It was one big surprize when the water came out dirty and milky looking. We all started panicing and we put the greatest minds together, trying to figure this thing out to no avail. The Install Team, now just Curt, Brian, and I, and the Ecuadorians stayed until 11:00 pm, and we could NOT get that water to clear up. We were very discouraged. One of the Ecuadorians said it would never work and said our work was for nothing.

A lot of prayers were said Saturday.

We called Jeff Rommel and he got things shaking for us back in the states.

On Sunday morning we returned and decided to recirculate the water through the .5 micron filter for a couple of hours. Good thinking Curt and Jeff. By 10:00 am we had made five bottles of beautiful bottles of pristine clear water.

While the rest of the team was busy with some last minute details, George Wuertz took Brian Seabaugh, Daryl Taylor, and Dale Bain on a mountain climbing expedition up Volcanoe Chimborazo, the largest active volcano in the world.

While climbing, they met some cute and peculiar friends: the Pequenas.

Our new friends. Once feared extinct, this precious animal is a treasure of Ecuador.

Wednesday night the Agua Viva Team worked until 10:00 pm (no dinner tonight) finishing up a few difficult details of the water system. It is now ready for leak testing. It was a huge last minute push and the Ecuadorians stayed by our side to last minute.

Since there was no education on Wednesday, Raquel Poz Diaz and Mario and I, headed up to Pallatonga about 1-1/2 hour away all the way down to 7,500 feet elevation. The people there live in desperate conditions among an abundance of Mora (red berries) and frijoles (bean crops). I think what they need most is Health Education and Evangelism. They are hard workers but they need a lot of help… especially health and hygiene education. They are very spiritual and we prayed together in their little church.

This is the church in the village near Pallatonga.

Then, on Thursday, the whole team travelled up the mountain again to Gompuena. We had a very nice reception and the part of the Water Team jumped right in and started discussing a possible covenant. During the discussions, the rest of the team went on a mountain climbing tour of the hillside.

In the afternoon, Curt Mader, Mario Mejia, and I went to the University ESPOCH and talked to the Vice-Chancellor about creating an accreditted class at the University on Water Purification. We have many details to work out but the University gave us a MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) to begin negotiations.

On Thursday, the Agua Viva Team met with the University ESPOCH to discuss partnering.

All six operators showed up on time and immediately began working. It took quite a bit of “figuring” but soon the tanques were set in their new homes and the 4×8 plywood sheet was attached to the wall. Nothing missing so far. Translators are awesome. Stil a few lingering concerns but I believe Curt was pleased with the progress.

The Adult Educators showed up too. Nine! This was a managable number and we soon were informed that few of the Adult Educators could read or write Spanish because they were not allowed to go to school. So, much of the class was conducted in their native Quichua. Very odd sounding language. Raquel Poz Diaz says is nothing like Quiche (Guatemalan indigenous language). That surprized me.

We are making lots of friends. We had 17 people at dinner last night !!! It is a little pricey but the relaxed conversation with our volunteers and new friends is invaluable. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

George and Sheree Wuertz, Daniel and Nathan are here, with Melanie Swift (Sheree’s mother), and it is great to have them with us. Daniel and Nathan are a real joy to have around. George is a big help with the install team, and Sheree is working with the Education Team (but I am pretty sure she doesn’t understand the Quichua). Oh, well.

I met with the University and they have asked me to speak at the University on Saturday about Water Scarcity, Gender Empowerment, World Hunger. That should be interesting.

After quite a “haul” up the mountains in the bumpy van, we finally made it to Riobamba. Upon on arrival, Promesa Divina called and said they were waiting on us for Church at 5:30 pm. So, we all got back on the Van and drove up to 12,000 feet elevation and enjoyed a wonderful Church service in Spanish, English, and Quichua. It was truly awesome and we all felt God’s presence. The Choir sang for us and now I understand what it means “from the abundance of our hearts, the mouth speaks”. It was a great day.

We met two of our new translators: Krista and Oren. They are with the Peace Corp and they are working in health education. So, we feel very blessed.

We unloaded all of our 50 pound suitcases. The Water Room looks good. It has ceramic tile on the floors, our water table has been completed (almost), they have the bottles, caps, tanques, and even Curt was pleased.

Pastor Fernandez was NOT there today because he is a guest speakerat a Church in Quito. But, all of the Elders were there and they said they are ready to start the installation and education TOMORROW. Do not delay.

The Agua Viva Water Team et.all. has arrived in Quito to a warm reception by Maritza Yanez and her entire family. Her mother, her sisters, her in-laws. It was awesome. We made it to the Hotel Sebastian by 10:00 pm.
Tomorrow Brian Seabaugh and Raquel Poz Diaz are running a 10K in Quito. We leave at 6:45 am. Then, it is off to the market and then to Riobamba.
Everything is great and God is with us.
Moses.

Our Agua Viva Team left for Ecuador today at 3:15 am. I remembered my passport this time. We just cleared our first big hurdel. We connected with Mario Mejia and Raquel Poz Diaz in the Miami Airport. So, we prayed and thanked God for this miracle and we board for Quito, Ecuador in 15 minutes.
Jim Allen